Open Access a Sure Thing in 700 MHz C-Block

You might want to sit down for this one, spectrum fans. The 700 MHz c-block is now guaranteed to have open access requirements.

Exciting, I know.

As we’ve been reporting, the FCC last week opened its auction for spectrum in the 700 MHz band and has now solicited more than $15 billion in bids from a group of 214 approved bidders. Bidders can place bids on any five blocks, A through E, but the c-block is of particular interest because it is required to support open applications and devices, should bids reach a reserve price of $4.6 billion.

That reserve was met on Thursday, when a bid for $4.7 billion was placed in round 17 for a package of licenses that cover all 50 states. The auction will continue until there is a round in which no bids are placed, so it could continue for weeks. Technically, another bidder could come in and outbid the c-block high bidder, according to the FCC, though no bids for that license have been placed in the last three rounds.

FCC rules prohibit the commission from revealing who is actually bidding on what licenses until after the auction is done. But given that Google was the big driver behind open access, and its support of Android, it is very likely that the search engine giant is bidding on the c-block. Verizon Wireless is another possibility, but it’s unclear whether Google has slowly been inching toward the $4.6 billion reserve price by itself or if Google and Verizon have been battling it out for the past week.

Google executives were questioned about the auction and open access during its Thursday earnings call, but they declined to comment citing FCC rules that prohibit approved bidders from talking about the auction before its conclusion.